Grey reef sharks feed mainly on bony fishes, with cephalopods such as squid and octopus being the second-most important food group, and crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters making up the remainder. The larger sharks take a greater proportion of cephalopods.[20] These sharks hunt individually or in groups, and have been known to pin schools of fish against the outer walls of coral reefs for feeding.[14] Hunting groups of up to 700 grey reef sharks have been observed at Fakarava atoll in French Polynesia.[21][22] They excel at capturing fish swimming in the open, and they complement hunting whitetip reef sharks, which are more adept at capturing fish inside caves and crevices.[4] Their sense of smell is extremely acute, being capable of detecting one part tuna extract in 10 billion parts of sea water.[13] In the presence of a large quantity of food, grey reef sharks may be roused into a feeding frenzy; in one documented frenzy caused by an underwater explosion that killed several snappers, one of the sharks involved was attacked and consumed by the others.[23]
Most observed displays by grey reef sharks have been in response to a diver (or submersible) approaching and following it from a few meters behind and above. They also perform the display towards moray eels, and in one instance towards a much larger great hammerhead (which subsequently withdrew). However, they have never been seen performing threat displays towards each other. This suggests the display is primarily a response to potential threats (i.e. predators) rather than competitors. As grey reef sharks are not territorial, they are speculated to be defending a critical volume of "personal space" around themselves. Compared to sharks from French Polynesia or Micronesia, grey reef sharks from the Indian Ocean and western Pacific are not as aggressive and less given to displaying.[3]
Sandbar shark (C. plumbeus): The sandbar shark has a snout that is shorter than the width of its mouth and a large first dorsal fin originating over the axis of the pectoral fin (the Caribbean reef shark’s first dorsal fin is further from the head than the sandbar shark). Unlike the Caribbean reef shark, the sandbar shark has widely spaced non-overlapping dermal denticles that lack defined teeth on their free edges.
Although they only grow to about 1.6 to 3 meters (5 to 10 feet) in length, these sharks are the apex predators on the very delicate coral reefs. That means, around coral reefs, they are the top of the food chain. The significants of this goes largely unnoticed, but theWorld Wildlife Fund has classified the Reef Shark as one of the most important species on the entire planet!
The Caribbean reef shark occurs throughout the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina in the north to Brazil in the south, including Bermuda, the northern Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. However, it is extremely rare north of the Florida Keys. It prefers shallow waters on or around coral reefs, and is commonly found near the drop-offs at the reefs' outer edges.[4] This shark is most common in water shallower than 30 m (98 ft), but has been known to dive to 378 m (1,240 ft).[1]
Ancient reefs buried within stratigraphic sections are of considerable interest to geologists because they provide paleo-environmental information about the location in Earth's history. In addition, reef structures within a sequence of sedimentary rocks provide a discontinuity which may serve as a trap or conduit for fossil fuels or mineralizing fluids to form petroleum or ore deposits.